I'd forgotten a lot about my comrades in the thirty years since last I'd seen them. Dr. Fallon, for instance, had a way of completely diving into the research and ignoring the outside world. His wife, on more than one occasion, had been forced to go into the lab and drag him away from his work to get him to eat. Jenny talked all the time - her species had no internal monologue; they spoke everything they thought. It was strange the first few times one of us ticked her off, as she would insult us but then seem surprised when we were offended. We got used to it. Sann, the hardware tech, the one in charge of making sure what me and the doc and the squid thought up was implemented correctly, he was the quiet one. While Jenny and Fallon would get into discussions all the time over the true nature of the Resonator, Sann and I would be in the other room silently hacking together our unlicensed knock-off.
Salient Steve, as I had forgotten up until this point, was a sanctimonious bastard, and we all hated him.
I was reminded of this fact as my travel down 404 came to an abrupt and angry stop. I thought that the Lane itself had given out on me, but of course that was stupid; if it had done so I wouldn't be around to wonder about it. A quick query on my computer revealed that the lane had become too unstable for further travel, and the Lane drive had been disengaged for my safety. I was about to start hacking the computer to ignore my personal safety and carry on when I got the transmission.
"Unidentified craft, you are traveling in a restricted zone without permission. Identify yourself immediately or your carrier lane will be dropped."
My translator produced this voice in a tone of annoyance that I'd recognize anywhere. I sent back a reply along the lines of me being wounded, deeply, that someone who resonated so well with Steve and his goals should be so ill-treated.
"Ledford? Dear God man, what possessed you of all people to find me? Ugh, I was hoping it would be someone else. Even our amazing squid would have been better. What the hell do you want?"
I was getting the old crew back together, of course. I didn't mention the part where I'd much rather have left Steve out of it, but as he was the only one I could get ahold of, he was going to have to do.
"Wow, Ledford, you're even stupider than I remember. Haven't you been paying attention to the newsnets lately? Hell, I suspected I'd have to do it. That's why I was leaving the messages for everyone, so they'd know what was happening. I think we all knew Archetype was going to catch up with us someday. Figures I'd be the only one among you who would care. We're in this much trouble already, and you want to go about starting it all up again?"
I couldn't explain it to Steve - he wasn't the sort who would understand the need to solve a technological problem like that. He was more of a bottom line sort of person, and in this case the bottom line was not calling attention to himself. I focused on another part of his diatribe, though: There was trouble?
"Yes, as you'd know if you'd been keeping up at all. Dr. Fallon turned himself in to the tribunal. Apparently it happened several months ago but word of it's just leaked out now. You know, any second now there's going to be wanted posters up and broadcasts about Archetype and this whole damn section of space is going to be gunning for us. I hijacked that Lane so I could get word out to at least one of you about what had happened. You go find the rest and let them know. I suspect Fallon's told everyone everything they wanted to know, but he and Jenny were mainly research. It's you and Sann they'll be after; you're the ones who actually built the thing. You especially since you're familiar with both the theory and practice of making that particular bit of cracked-up machinery."
It didn't make sense to focus just on me and Sann, though. Why us?
"Because, you idiot, as soon as they have you they'll want you to make another one. And we all know where that'll lead. Now I've done my part and said what I dragged you out here to say. Get the hell off of my lane so I can shut it down and vanish properly, okay?"
I responded by cutting the communication short and turning the Lane drive back on. To no great surprise, the stability of the Lane appeared to increase the farther back it reached. Heading forward to where Steve was acting as an anchor were increasing areas of spottiness. It was clear which direction he wanted me to go in. I headed back.